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Big-voiced pop legend who had a string of hits during the 1960s. Born James Smith, Proby worked under the stage name Jett Powers before making it big-time as PJ Proby with a rock arrangement of the 1939 Dick Haymes ballad 'Hold Me'. Other chart successes included 'Somewhere' and 'Maria' from 'West Side Story', Lennon & McCartney's 'That Means A Lot' and the Billy Eckstine hit 'I Apologise'. Proby had earlier worked as a session singer for the likes of BB King, Little Richard, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley, whom he was to play in the musical 'Elvis' in the West End in 1977. Although never far from controversy, P J Proby remains a much-loved and popular entertainer.